So Much For A Boring Camp!
by Grumpygilly875
Summary: ika and Takato are sent to a camp over the summer, together. They meet two friends and have fun hanging out until Phantomon goes after Rika and Takato in a haunted house and won't stop following...
1. Phantom Prankster

Um let's see, since this isn't my made up story...well it is but I'm borrowing Rika and Takato from Digimon it's time for a fun disclaimer! (for those who know me in real life you know that I hate writing disclaimers which is why I come up with stories, but I like these two Digimon characters too much from when I was younger so boo-hoo!)

Anyway I'll stop rambling on and get to the disclaimer so you can get to the story! I don't own Digimon, so Rika and Takato aren't my characters...blah blah blah... Um...wait there was something else...so late writing this, I can't think straight...Oh yea! This story happens like three years after the events in the Tamer series so...Rika and Takato are like 16 years old as well as Jeff and Kai, and Takato is much less dorky-looking and actually quite handsome and taller than Rika!

** Camping Special: So Much for a Boring Time at Camp!**

**By Grumpygilly875**

**Part One: Phantom Prankster**

"Man this is so boring! So much for camp activities...we've done nothing all day except sit by the lake and watch people swim," whined Jeffrey Carlson. Jeff had short black hair, dark brown eyes and wore dark blue shorts and a beige t-shirt.

"Dude I'm dying for a swim...there's so many people in the lake that it wouldn't be worth it though," sighed Kai Highwind, shaking his head. Kai had unruly brown hair of medium length and crystal blue eyes. He wore baggy grey-blue cargo pants and a thin black hoodie.

"Where else is there to swim? Camp Starshine only has one lake here and the indoor pool, both of which are full of people...," stated Takato throwing a rock into the water.

"Two lakes," said Rika in a correcting voice as she sat up and smiled at the three boys.

"Rika there's only one lake and it's this one," laughed Jeffrey as if she was making a joke.

"Two lakes...one here that everyone knows about...the other hidden and no one dares go through the forest to get to it..."

"What are you talking about?" asked Kai, intrigued.

"Well two nights ago, I was bored and doing the usual insomniac thing and I decided to go for a walk-"

"But all the cabins are locked after dark...no one can get out...the counsellors do it for safety procedures 'cuz of some of the wild animals," interrupted Jeffrey.

"Pfft! Do you honestly believe...maybe you would...but Gogglehead'll believe me when I say no camp Starshine lock is a match for me!" smirked Rika proudly and Takato laughed, nodding his head in agreement.

"So you're saying you broke out!" gasped Jeffrey (he's one that sticks to most rules).

"Of course I did...I was bored and I needed to go for a walk. It's a free country isn't it?"

"Did anyone try to stop you?" asked Kai, more intrigued by the second (he's totally cool and a bit of a rule breaker himself).

"Well there was only one girl awake...what's her name again? We've been here eight days and I haven't spent much time with them or cared about them so I forget their names a lot...oh yeah it's Tammy! Anyway, she was awake and she asked where I was going and proceeded to lecture me but I ignored her. I remembered her saying something when they all introduced themselves to me about coming to this camp for two years now so I asked her about the forest beside the girl cabins."

"What'd she say?" inquired Takato, knowing that if it was something to tell Rika not to go, Rika was gonna want to go into the forest even more.

"She told me it was dangerous and that the girls hadn't ventured in there after this one girl named Sophie, went in and got attack by a squirrel...figures...total simpering wimps!" laughed Rika and the guys joined in. "Anyway she said not even the girl counsellors go and that no one's explored it 'cuz there's no path."

"So if you went into the forest how'd you get back without a path?" asked Jeffrey worriedly.

"Is he always like this?" Rika asked Kai and he nodded, laughing a little. "There is a path it's just that the girls get too scared to walk like ten feet farther and push some bushes out of the way to find it. I followed it and after like a five-minute walk I found this beautiful lake. I didn't tell anyone about it but if you guys wanna go swimming...we'll have the whole lake to ourselves!" smirked Rika proudly.

"Cool...I'd say go now but its five twenty and me and Jeff have a tennis match with these two dudes from three cabins down in ten minutes. Can we meet you there in about an hour-and-a-half?" asked Kai and Rika glanced at Takato and nodded.

"Sure, it's not that hard to find. Just go to my cabin, 13, and walk straight into the forest behind it, follow the path hidden in the bushes and you'll be there in like five minutes."

-BREAK-

"I thought you told Kai and Jeff to go straight on the path to get to the lake?" asked Takato as he and Rika walked in companiable silence. He caught a glimpse of the lake as he followed Rika on a side path to the right.

"Yeah I did."

"Then why are we going right? I can see the lake from here," he stated as Rika dropped her towel and her swim trunks on the ground at the fork in the path and patted some dirt off her cargo pant leg. He dropped his towel beside hers as she lifted her lavender eyes to face him.

"You like paranormal stuff right Gogglehead?" she asked, smirking thoughtfully.

"Yeah."

"Good, c'mon then," she smirked as she walked off down the side path.

"Wait! Wait Rika, what about going swimming? Where are we going?" asked Takato as he rushed after her.

She stopped and pointed forward and as Takato followed its direction, he found himself staring at an old looking, broken-down house.

"One of the counsellors told me about a haunted house somewhere in the forest. I found it when I found the lake and I checked it out...well I didn't go in or anything. I figured, we've got an hour-and-a-half before we gotta meet Kai and Jeff at the lake, you'd probably like to see it."

"But why? Why do something nice all of a...oops that came out wrong! What I mean...well what I mean is...I'm not saying you're not nice I...I just meant..."stammered Takato.

"I get it Gogglehead," smirked Rika. "I...I...It's just that you're always so nice to me and you do things to help me. You found me within the darkness of my own heart when IceDevimon took over. So yeah I'm doing something nice...and if you tell anybody about this when we get back home or even at camp...you'll get it," she threatened as she started towards the house.

"Don't worry Flash, I won't," laughed Takato as he scurried after her.

"I told you not to call me that," snapped Rika as she walked up the front steps of the house.

"Well it's just as fair 'cuz you call me Gogglehead," protested Takato as he tried to turn the doorknob but found it was locked.

"Find a different nickname...Flash is a one-time thing from my grandmother when I was little and I really don't like being reminded of it. Why don't you call me Ri like other people do?" asked Rika as she kneeled down in front of the door, removed a hairpin from one of her cargo pants' pockets and shoved it into the lock.

"That's the point, tons of other people call you Ri but only you call me Gogglehead," Takato reminded her as the lock clicked and Rika pushed open the door, shoving the hairpin back into her pocket. "Got any suggestions? Didn't anyone else ever you give a nickname?"

"No, now are you coming or not?" asked Rika impatiently as she stalked into the house. Takato sighed and walked in after her.

-BREAK-

They searched the house silently for about forty minutes until a blue light caught their attention and the two teens slowly approached the room where it was coming from. It was a large bedroom and the four-poster was old, tattered and eaten up by moths.

Rika cautiously approached the doorway from where the blue glow was coming from and found a walk-in closet. The closet was about four and a half feet wide and ten feet long. It was completely empty except for a small box at the very back.

Curiosity overcame a feeling caution in both teens and they walked to the back and crouched in front of the small box. Rika slowly opened it and took out the small card inside, staring at it curiously. The blue glow stopped as she read the glowing writing. "A phantom prankster says ha, ha, ha stupid Famers."

Takato and Rika exchanged confused glances.

"Famers?" asked Takato and Rika shrugged, being just as confused as he was.

"It's written Tamers! Tamers, not Famers! My writing isn't that bad!" shrieked a voice from the doorway and the two teens turned to see Phantomon floating in the doorway, a mocking look on his face.

"What in the hell are-" started Rika but she never finished as Phantomon waved goodbye and laughed as he slammed the door shut. She ran to it and tried the handle but it wouldn't open. "He obviously doesn't realize that I'm the master of picking locks," laughed Rika as she took the hairpin from her pocket and shoved it in the keyhole. Suddenly the hairpin shot out of the keyhole and flew across the room, landing on the floor and Rika groaned.

"He put a spell on it didn't he?" asked Takato as Rika moaned and slid to the ground, her back against the door. She nodded and looked around the room.

"Great, I'm locked in a walk-in closet, in an old abandoned house, hidden in the woods of a summer camp that's in the middle of nowhere," she groaned, then, glancing at Takato, she added, "with Gogglehead. Things just couldn't get any worse!"

"Sure being locked in here sucks but what's wrong with me?" asked Takato defensively, getting up, walking the middle of the room and staring at Rika.

"Nothing it's just...you're...well you're...you...and that's all I'm gonna say," said Rika, looking away from him and instead at the wall to her right. He shrugged and fingered Phantomon's card in his hands.

She got up and kicked at the door furiously, sending vibrations through the floor, the walls and the ceiling. Seeing that the door wasn't going to open with force she muttered angrily under her breath and turned to look at Takato, who was still staring at the card.

She looked up at the ceiling above him and gasped when she saw Phantomon's head sticking out of the ceiling and his arms shaking the chandelier to make it fall. The Digimon glanced at Rika and noticed she was going to warn Takato and so he smiled and flicked his hand at her, tossing a spell to take her words away as she tried to warn Takato.

She groaned and lunged at Takato as the chandelier fell and they landed on the ground roughly, out of the chandelier's range as it crashed to the ground and exploded, sending glass shards everywhere. Takato put his arm around Rika and used his zipper hoodie to shield them from the shards.

As he removed their shield, Rika looked up and found her lavender eyes met pale brown ones. His face was no more than three inches from hers. "Thanks Rika," he smiled sweetly and Rika flushed before swiftly getting up and shaking the shards from her clothing.

She picked up the small box in which they'd found the card and used the lid to sweep the broken chandelier into it. Takato sighed, shook his head and pushed himself to his feet as Rika put the box back in it's place. She resumed her place near the door and he sat down on a small stool that was in the closet as an awkward silence filled the gap between them.

"Ruki," she said slowly some twenty minutes later.

"Excuse me?" asked Takato confusedly as he lifted his head and looked up at her.

She leaned her head back against the door and sighed. "Ruki...you asked me if anyone else had ever given me a nickname well...when I was really little, my grandfather, he made it up for me 'cuz when he'd ask me to write my name I'd get it wrong and write it like that. He's the only one that's ever called me that and no one else has since he died when I was eleven," said Rika in a sad tone.

"I'm sorry about that...I...I can't...I couldn't call you that Rika...that was something special between you and your grandfather who isn't here anymore. I-It wouldn't be right if I called you that...," said Takato, shaking his head.

Rika smiled a little and looked up at him, "I don't mind. In fact...I think it would remind me of him and it'd be a memory of him I haven't pushed away...I think it'd be good...if you don't mind," confessed Rika in a sweet tone that Takato had rarely heard her use before. She only spoke so sweetly and calmly when she shared secrets and memories from her past with him, and only him, in rare defenceless moments, like this one.

He smiled sweetly again and nodded, "ok...Ruki it is then." Their gazes locked on one another for a moment before Rika tore her eyes away and got up, trying to search the door for a way to break it or something.

She found nothing and sighed, stomping her foot on the ground. She froze and stomped again, before couching to the ground and hitting the floor.

"What are you-?"

"Shh!" whispered Rika curtly as she continued hitting the floor. She cried triumphantly and motioned for Takato to get off the stool. "The floor is very weak there and should break away easily, then, we could try and find a way down and out of this place!" she cried happily, as she lifted the stool above her head and smashed it to the floor.

A loud cracking noise sounded through the room and as she lifted the stool again and smashed it down, a fracture formed itself in the floor. Takato took a wary step back and as she struck the floor with the stool a third time, it fell away. Too much fell away as the floor beneath Rika's feet crumbled with it and she screamed as she fell downwards, letting the stool go and it went crashing to the floor quite a ways beneath her.

The weight of the floor and the stool and a huge chandelier that was on the ceiling of the floor beneath them crashed into the old wooden floor, it collapsed and flew downwards to the basement.

Rika's whole body tensed as her fall was stopped and she felt a warm hand, holding on to her own. She looked up and found Takato lying on the ground and reaching down to catch her hand. She glanced down and noticed just how far the basement floor was and swallowed hard, trying to force back the image of her falling and plummeting towards the unwelcoming pile of sharp chandelier pieces and spikes of broken wood floor.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna let you fall...just hang on and I'll pull you up," breathed Takato. He took a deep breath and pulled her up over the edge and back on firm ground. "Looks like we're even now eh?" laughed Takato as he got up and held his hand out to Rika who took it and he helped her up.

"Yeah...I guess so...I wouldn't be here if you hadn't helped...," said Rika as she walked to the edge of the hole in the floor and peered down into it. She walked over to the small cabinets in the walk-in closet and opened them, finding all of them empty except the last, where she found a large sheet that she pulled out and shook free of cobwebs and dust.

She went back to the hole and tied the end of the sheet around a large plank of wood that was sticking out farther than the rest and then threw the rest down.

"We have to get out of here...," sighed Rika as she looked up at Takato and pointed to the sheet. "Are you coming?"

-BREAK-

Hi, Lannie here again (some ppl are probably thinking 'oh no, not again!') but don't worry I won't hold you up with ramblings like I did at the beginning. I just wanted to say that if anyone asks yes I know that Ruki is her Japanese name but I needed a cute nickname and that's what kept popping into my head. So ya go on, there's two more


	2. The Kiss Of Life

**Camping Special: So Much for a Boring Time at Camp!**

**By Grumpygilly875**

**Part Two: The Kiss of Life**

"Well I...I apologize for this happening...I meant for the visit to the haunted house to be fun," said Rika flatly as she grabbed her towel and swim trunks and walked down the path towards the lake.

"Actually it was really cool," smiled Takato and Rika turned to stare incredulously at him.

"Really cool? Gogglehead, Phantomon's prank almost got the both of us killed!" She glanced at him to try to see his reaction but he kept smiling as if what she said meant nothing. "You almost got your head smashed in by a glass chandelier and I almost dropped three stories to a spiky, sharp and glass-covered end."

"Key word is almost...we're here and Phantomon is probably floating off somewhere pulling a fit 'cuz he couldn't get to us. We're Tamers and we go through danger in every Digimon Battle and he should know it's gonna take more than that," laughed Takato as he smiled again.

Rika groaned and took off her sweater and cargo pants, shivering slightly as a cold wind brushed past and she was only wearing her bikini and bathing suit bottom underneath. She recovered a little as she pulled on her swim trunks. "I still think it was pretty cool," said Takato, glancing sideways at Rika as she did so and then shaking his head swiftly to suppress the redness suddenly rising in his cheeks.

"Hey you guys!" yelled Jeffrey as he and Kai ran towards them.

"Jeff, Kai, I thought your tennis game didn't finish for another like half hour!" cried Takato as the two threw their towels with the others, took off their shirts and jumped into the water.

"We beat those two guys we were playing so we got to leave early," laughed Jeffrey before diving underwater.

"What about you guys? You certainly aren't wet so couldn't have been swimming. What have you two been-" Kai stopped mid-sentence and looked from Rika, to Takato, to the woods around them and back, a mischievous smile forming on his lips. "Hehehehe..."

"No, no it's not what you think!" cried Takato, suddenly realizing what Kai was implying.

"Alright whatever you say dude," laughed Kai.

"You know, I've spent a long time around guys but sometimes...there's things about you guys...I just don't get," sighed Rika, shaking her head as the guys laughed.

"C'mon Ri, we've been playing tennis for an hour while impatiently awaiting our swim...don't kill the fun!" chuckled Jeffrey.

"Yeah Ruki c'mon, we need to chill after what happened anyway," Takato whispered in Rika's ear. He laughed and smiled sweetly, took a step towards the lake and pulled off his shirt. Rika's gaze rested upon him for a moment until he turned to her and smiled again, then jumped into the lake. Rika cursed under her breath and dove into the lake a few feet away from the others.

"Dude did you see that?" asked Kai as he swam up beside Takato and smiled.

"See what?" inquired Takato and Jeffrey in unison.

"Rika...she so totally just checked you out!" whispered Kai, glancing at Rika to make sure she was out of earshot.

"Kai, you should get your eyes checked buddy...Rika checking me, let alone any guy like me out, is more far off than pigs flying!" laughed Takato, choking up some water as he doubled with laughter and swallowed some.

"Dude I'm serious she just did, then she muttered something to herself before diving into the water, away from us!" whispered Kai.

"Yeah, sure, whatever Kai. Just do me a favour, when you get back home, go to the eye-doctor, ok?" smiled Jeffrey as he patted Kai on the shoulder and dove underwater. Kai laughed and dove in after him.

"Ah man, Kai's a total joker," laughed Takato as he floated in circles. He glanced at Rika, who was swimming around. He was joking...right? He asked himself, puzzled. Of course he was you idiot! Like she'd ever return your feelings! Takato's mind told him.

-BREAK-

About a half hour later Rika was quietly swimming a few feet away from the boys, who were talking and playing around. She glanced to her right, saw the boys splashing water at one another, and rolled her eyes. She drifted a few feet further before she felt an ice-cold hand grasp her ankle. She screamed briefly before it pulled her under and water filled her open mouth.

"Rika!" cried Takato as he heard her scream and saw her go under.

"She's probably joking around to get back at us for earlier buddy," laughed Kai, shaking his head and motioning for Takato to let it go.

"She doesn't joke around like that Kai, ever. Besides, she isn't back up yet," said Takato fearfully.

Jeffrey raced to shore and grabbed Takato's goggles, bringing them back, pulling them over his eyes and poking his head under the water. "She's being dragged down. I can't tell by whom, but there's some weird red and grey thing behind her that looks like a shredded sheet," Jeffrey stated, pulling off Takato's goggles and handing them to their owner.

"Phantomon," growled Takato as he clenched his fists.

"You know who...or what...has got her?" asked Jeffrey and Takato nodded. "Then you've gotta save her, I can dive that deep and you've got lifeguard training right?"

Takato replied by sliding on his goggles and diving underwater. He spotted her quickly, her carrot-red hair sticking out like a sore thumb in the dark blue water. He kicked his legs and swam down towards her.

He reached her and almost cried out when he saw her eyes were closed and bubbles were escaping her mouth. Phantomon stuck his head out from behind her and grinned deviously. Unsuspectingly, Takato, his eyes full of worry for Rika and hatred for Phantomon, unleashed a particularly fierce kick at the grinning Digimon's face.

As it recoiled in pain, Takato slid his arm around Rika and swam as fast as he could towards the surface. He broke the surface and two sets of hands flew to help support him and Rika as the three teens paddled to the lake's edge.

Kai and Takato clambered onto shore and Jeffrey helped them lift Rika up with them. Takato laid Rika on her back and tried to shake her awake. "Rika, c'mon, don't do this to me. Not now...Rika, c'mon...Ruki please...," pleaded Takato as he tried repeatedly to shake her.

Phantomon shot out of the water and floated in the air a few feet away from the four teens. He had one hand over his left eye.

"What the hell is that thing?!" cried Jeffrey, fear reflected in his eyes.

"I'm not a thing I'm a Digimon named Phantomon! Trying to get either you or red just ain't worth the pain and frustration anymore!" screamed Phantomon as he glared at Takato before vanishing.

"She's not breathing man!" cried Kai worriedly as he looked at Takato. "You told us you had lifeguard training so now's the time to apply it!"

Takato took a deep breath, pushed back the little voice in his mind that kept saying; 'she is so gonna kill you for this!' Instead, he followed all the steps he'd learned for CPR, breathing air into her mouth. He repeated this procedure until Rika coughed and spat up water.

"Ruki!" cried Takato happily, as she sat up and coughed up more water.

"Wha...What happened?" she asked dazedly as she slowly looked at each of them. "The last thing I remember was feeling an ice-cold hand on my ankle and going under..."

"This freaky Digimon ghost dude named Phantomon tried to drown you but Takato here dove under to get you!" cried Jeffrey excitedly.

"Yeah, your 'Knight in Shining Armour' not only saved you from drowning and from Phantomon but saved you with 'the kiss of life'!" laughed Kai in a teasing manner.

Rika's eyes narrowed and she looked at Takato, who was still sitting right beside her.

"Haha...ha...ha..." Takato laughed nervously.

"Looks like you've saved me from Phantomon again Gogglehead. Guess it wasn't so bad to be stuck at this camp with you," said Rika as sincerely as she could, again saying something that was as close to an apology as she could manage.

"You're welcome," he said awkwardly as confused looks washed over Kai and Jeffrey's faces.


	3. By The Fire Does Truth Unveil

**Camping Special: So Much for a Boring Time at Camp!**

**By Grumpygilly875 **

**Part Three: By The Fire Does Truth Unveil**

"Stupid cold...," muttered Rika as she desperately tried to wrap her arms around herself.

Her zipper hoodie and swim trunks were hanging to dry with everyone's towels on a nearby tree. Her hoodie was only wet because after she 'said thank you' to Takato, she tried to dry off using her hoodie since Takato had laid her on her towel before resuscitating her. That was something she regretted now because even though the four of them sat by a campfire they'd made by the lake, there was still a cool night air. She stared blankly at the campfire and shivered.

"Hey, you cold?" asked Takato, sitting down next to her. "Here," he smiled and placed his zipper hoodie around her.

"I didn't say anything Gogglehead...," mumbled Rika, looking up at Takato and sighing when she saw the worry and care in his eyes. "But that's nice of you anyways...I guess I was kind of cold," she agreed, trying to pull the hoodie tighter around her.

"You're welcome," smirked Takato. He helped her pull the sweater tighter and slid closer to her.

"H...hey Gogglehead..."

"Oh sorry...," said Takato awkwardly as he slid away from her.

"No...no it's ok...," smirked Rika.

"Really?" asked Takato in disbelief. She nodded and cautiously, he slid next to her again.

"On one condition..."

"What is it?"

"When we get home...when we get back to our friends and families...and to our old selves...you don't speak a word of anything that happened here to anyone...got that?" said Rika, the corners of her mouth curving up slightly.

"Yeah...I promise," said Takato, grinning happily.

Rika glanced across the campfire and saw Kai and Jeffrey looking at them, snickering, and grinning. "You better watch it boys...'cuz if you don't stop...I'm gonna have to come over there and wipe those idiotic grins off your faces and trust me...it'll hurt," threatened Rika and Takato laughed.

"Hey Gogglehead...one more thing...," she said, turning back to look at him.

"Yeah Ruki?"

"Um...I...I um...thank you," she said quietly. "For everything you've done today. You saved me from Phantomon in the haunted house and at the lake earlier...and you're using the nickname...it does remind me of my grandfather and for that, I thank you. You're really a good friend."

"I...I...you're...it's...no problem...," said Takato, a look of pure astonishment on his face. You've no idea Ruki...I wish I had the guts to tell you...that I love you as more than just a good friend...and that's why I couldn't let anything happen to you...

He smiled at the thought and flushed when he looked at Rika.

"Hey Gogglehead you feeling okay?" she asked with a hint of worry in her voice. She lifted her right hand up to his forehead and then to his cheeks, causing him to blush even more. "Well it sure isn't a fever...and from the look of your tomato-coloured face, I'd say you're blushing," she smirked, laughing a little.

The sweet sound broke Takato from his thoughts and he blinked repeatedly at her. "No I wasn't...I...well I...it's just that I...," stammered Takato, unable to find a suitable excuse.

His confused and perplexed look made Rika smile and laugh again.

"You...You're laughing and...and smiling," said Takato happily.

"Yeah so?" asked Rika, returning to her usual indifferent tone of voice.

"It's just that...I've never really heard you laugh before...it's a really nice sound. And...um...you're really pretty when you smile," said Takato, smiling sweetly.

He was expecting her to have some sort of reaction, whether positive or negative. However, she did nothing. Rika just sat there and stared at him, completely speechless.

"You...you just said...that I was...," stammered Rika with a blank stare on her face.

"I said that you're really pretty when you smile," said Takato finishing her sentence for her and smiling sweetly again. "Actually, I think you're really pretty no matter what."

Seeing that the blank stare wasn't leaving her face and that she still couldn't find the ability to speak, Takato continued. "The fact is Rika...I hope you've noticed it because I've been trying to get close to you for a while now. I've been trying to judge your reaction to things I do because I wanted to figure out if you like me...because I...I love you Ruki...I have for a long time."

"Me? But Gogglehead I-" she never got a chance to finish her sentence because Takato leaned over and kissed her. He put his hands on her waist as her mind and heart fought for control. Her mind kept telling her that this was Gogglehead that was kissing her and that she should pummel him for even attempting it. Her heart however, was telling her that this was what she truly wanted and that she did in fact return his feelings.

Her heart won as she gave in, her lavender eyes slid shut and both hands came up to clasp the back of Takato's neck as they kissed. Kai and Jeff, who had been watching this whole scene from the other side of the fire, held back whistles and merely smiled. A few moments later, Takato smiled and pulled away, gently breaking the kiss. He waited a few seconds to see if she was going to get mad.

"I guess that answers my question," smirked Takato.

"What question?" asked Rika.

"If you care about me like I care about you...and the answer seems to be yes."

"And how do you figure that?"

"It's simple, you let me kiss you and didn't pummel me," answered Takato, smiling sweetly.

"But...but I can't...I can't because...I'm not and easy person to love...I've never really had the greatest examples of a relationship so I...I don't know...," Rika blushed and slid back a little.

"Ruki...for once...let someone else be the leader. You may think you're not an easy person to love but...I love you and I'm ready to try," said Takato taking her hand in his.

He pulled her closer and held her in a warm embrace as she slipped her arms around him. "Okay...I...I love you too Takato," Rika said quietly, finally saying the words he'd wanted to hear for a long time. She lifted her head to look up at him and smiled. He returned the smile and kissed her lightly.

Kai and Jeff, who had held out long enough, whistled and made sounds of encouragement and applause. The two Tamers looked at their friends across the fire and the four teens burst out laughing.

"Hey you know what I said earlier about not mentioning anything that happened here to the others when we get back?" asked Rika, still smiling.

"Yeah?"

"Forget I ever said that," smirked Rika.

And that concludes this fanfic hope you liked it PLZ R&R! Anyway ya, bye now!


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